08-27-01

J.H. Byrom came into the store the other day, and his hair was standing straight up. He asked Jackie if she would bring him a Dr. Pepper. He said that he had just been released from the hospital and was feeling his live oats, and thought that a Dr. Pepper would sooth him a little since he had been out in the hot weather and wasn’t used to it. He soon grabbed him one of the red stools up near the cash register and sat down.

Jackie asked him why his hair was standing straight up, and why didn’t he have his cap on. His reply was you see, I just got out of the hospital and while I am feeling fairly well, I thought I would come by and see if you and Bouncer know where I could find a sure enough wild woman.

Jackie handed him his Dr. Pepper, and he settled down and began to tell me that the Lindley Store out in his neighborhood was in operation as a small family grocery store on a small family farm that was a part of their neighborhood until the early 1920's.

J.H. was looking at the old map that was in last week’s Town Charter and described the old roads that were in existence back when he was a young lad . He said that just north of the Lindley Store on the first road back to the west was an ongoing route to Aubrey. He said that the clay hills just north of Doc Peipelman’s house made it almost impossible to get into town after a rain and that there was a sandy road that made traveling more acceptable to the south of the two story wood building that served as a retail business more than a century ago.

J.H. did confirm that the old store building was located just about where Bobby Redfearn described it last week, and that a sand pit has just about eaten all of the remains, if any were left.

He also said that the old Antioch Baptist church was located where the Knuckles Road is now. It was located on the north side of the road on the opposite side of the road where the Knuckles lived (which is now the south side of Knuckles Road.).

He didn’t remember when the church was moved to the current location, but the old building was used regularly up until a few years ago when it became a new brick structure.

J.H. also told me about the steam engine that powered the gin located at Sandtown (a settlement of friendly Cherokee Indians). The engine was located on the farm where he lives today. Local historians told him that there was a fence down under the sand dunes, the fence had been covered up as years passed.

He say that he bulldozed the fence row out and found the rocks that supported the steam engine. He guesses that someone dismantled the huge boiler and sold it for junk.

J.H. Byrom is in his eighties and is very capable of describing life as it was when the Indians were around. He worked with them on numerous occasions. He is a descendant of the Cherokees and says that they were good hard-working and very honest people. He respected them and had a great amount of admiration and more especially a knowledge of how bad they were treated by the early immigrants from Europe and other countries.

He also told me that the Denton County road crew kept a large supply of mules in a pasture across from where he lives. They were used to pull fresnos and mule pulled graders on the county roads.

We do take this means to wish J.H. a healthy recovery and wishes for many more stories from Sandtown.

I would like to mention that at about the time you are reading this newspaper, Jackie and I will be on our way to Mexico. We have been invited to go along with the Texas Cherokee tribe council as they are going to be honored with documentation from President Fox and the Governor of Coahilla and recognized as one of the Indian Tribes of Mexico.

I will have future stories on this trip and a story about the Thomas land that was located just east of the Liberty community.

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